Donal Lenihan casts an eye over what lies ahead for rugby fans in next 12 months

Fasten the seat-belt and take a firm grip of something solid, suggests Donal Lenihan.

Wed, 01 Oct, 2014 - 01:00

A rugby player, coach and manager during a glittering career with Munster, Ireland and the Lions and now a definitive voice in Irish rugby analysis and commentary.

If you’re a rugby fan, the next 12 months, culminating with the Rugby World Cup in England and Wales, promise a roller coaster ride like no other since the advent of professionalism changed the landscape forever back in 1995.

Rugby now enters its 20th season since that seismic decision in Paris when the IRB as a collective body announced the game was to go ‘open’. The ground rules have changed appreciably over the last 12 months with the advent of the new European Rugby Champions Cup, the standout alteration this season. Even the governing body has got in on the act with a rebranding which will see the IRB assume the rather more grandiose title of World Rugby from November next.